Dogon People -- Robert Temple and The Sirius Mystery 1976
Dogon People -- Robert Temple and The Sirius Mystery (1976)
Robert Temple: Profile
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Robert K.G. Temple |
| Credentials | Visiting professor, history and philosophy of science, Tsinghua University; Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society; Fellow of the Egypt Exploration Society; member of the Royal Historical Society and Institute of Classical Studies |
| Key publication | The Sirius Mystery (1976; expanded edition 1998) |
| Other books | The Sphinx Mystery; Oracles of the Dead; The Genius of China; approximately 12 books total |
| Claimed persecution | Temple claims the 1976 book triggered a 15-year persecution campaign by the KGB, CIA, and NASA; no independent verification |
The Book's Core Argument
Temple's thesis rests on three pillars:
The knowledge problem: The Dogon knew specific, accurate, non-obvious properties of Sirius B (orbital period, density, ellipticity, invisibility) that could not have been determined without telescopes or spectroscopic analysis. The knowledge is too specific and too accurate to be coincidental and must have come from an external source.
The source: The most likely source is the Nommo themselves -- actual extraterrestrial beings from the Sirius system who visited Earth approximately 5,000 years ago, leaving knowledge preserved in Dogon tradition and in parallel myths from Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The Egyptian connection: Ancient Egyptian religion was centrally focused on Sirius (Sothis/Sopdet/Isis). The Sothic calendar -- the most sophisticated astronomical calendar of the ancient world -- was based on Sirius's heliacal rising. Temple argued this sophistication reflects the same extraterrestrial contact encoded more explicitly in Dogon tradition. Specific fish and water deity iconography in Egyptian religion parallels the Nommo's amphibious character.
The Mesopotamian Connection
Temple devoted extensive sections to the Oannes figure from Berossus's Babyloniaca:
- Berossus describes Oannes as an amphibious being from the sea who taught civilisation -- writing, science, agriculture, and the arts
- Oannes is depicted in Mesopotamian iconography wearing a fish skin or fish garment
- Temple argued Oannes and the Nommo are the same beings or both are cultural memories of the same extraterrestrial visitors
Reception
The book sold more than 10,000 copies in its first two months in the UK and became an international bestseller. Praised by advocates as rigorous scholarship distinguished from more sensationalist ancient alien books by its detailed sourcing. Criticised by Sagan, Ridpath, and others as selective interpretation of ambiguous evidence.
The 1998 expanded edition added 140 pages of new material, responded to the contamination critique, and included Temple's claim of a 15-year KGB/CIA/NASA persecution campaign following the original publication.
